This invention relates to data and voice communication, and more particularly, to data and voice communication over shared access networks.
Shared access networks such as cable television systems, the so-called xe2x80x98wireless cablexe2x80x99 systems, and power line data networks are now common. Cable systems are typically comprised of a central controller (referred to as a xe2x80x9cheadendxe2x80x9d) with one or more trunk lines extending therefrom. A series of feeder lines extends from each trunk into subscriber areas. Service lines run from the feeder lines to individual dwellings. The trunk, feeder lines, and service lines may be either fiberoptic or coaxial cable, or a combination of both. Each subscriber is attached via a line tap onto the feeder or service line. This permits users to freely access the data carried by the cable system, be it television programming or computer data.
Shared access networks may also be wireless, such as a wireless cable network. In the case of wireless cable networks, a single base station radiates and receives voice and data RF signals to and from a plurality of subscribers. In order to increase the capacity of the network without requiring additional frequency channels, the base station may use sectored antennas or multiple polarizations to decrease the number of subscribers sharing a given frequency band. However, as long as at least two subscribers share the same frequency, base station antenna sector, and polarization, then the wireless service also qualifies as a shared access medium.
Power line data and voice networks (i.e., power line multimedia networks) are examples of shared access networks. Subscribers share access to the power cables, much as cable subscribers share access to the coaxial cable signals. The power line signals may further be shared in that signals from a group of subscribers may be collected and transmitted to the service provider by wireless base stations in the neighborhood, and these base stations may also share bandwidth with other base stations prior to reaching the service provider""s headend (or central controller) facility.
While shared access networks allow a phenomenal number of people access to information, they suffer problems in transmitting this information. When voice and data traffic are sent over such networks, they are often kept separate, usually via different frequency allocations, and often by using different physical and media access control (MAC) protocols. While less efficient and more costly to deploy, the separation of voice and data permit the quality requirements of voice traffic to be guaranteed, regardless of the data traffic load at any given instant.
Modern networks are emerging which integrate voice and data traffic. Thus, the two services share the overall bandwidth available. Such multimedia networks take the approach that voice packet data are formatted and transmitted in the same manner as data packets over the network. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) systems and internet protocol (IP) systems employ this approach. However, to ensure that voice packets are transmitted in a timely manner, bandwidth must be reserved on the network and managed by higher level entities. Further, a step called segmentation and reassembly (SAR) is required wherein large packets must be chopped up into smaller pieces for transport.
Take the example of IP voice and data transmitted over a hybrid fiber1 coaxial cable network. Standards are being developed (among them) Data Over Cable System Interface Specification (DOCSIS)) in order to ensure that voice traffic may be given service priority, thus theoretically preventing degradation when mixed with data traffic. However, current methods of mixing voice and data are inefficient. Additional bits must be sent for each voice packet when compared to traditional time domain multiplexing (TDM), which is employed to transmit voice over circuit switched networks such as the public switched telephone network. Further, when technologies such as voice activity detection (VAD) are used, the voice traffic may still suffer under heavy data loading unless additional measures are taken.
Accordingly, there is a need for a more efficient system and method of mixing data and voice communications over a shared access network.
Generally stated, the invention is a multi-source multiplexing system for use with a shared access network. The multi-source multiplexing system receives information (voice or data) packets from a series of signal sources. These signal sources may be any source capable of requesting or transmitting data or voice across a shared access network, such as a telephone, set-top box, web appliance, personal computer, or even computer programs operating within any of the aforementioned devices. The multiplexing system, or a modem associated with the multiplexing system, then requests a grant region within a data channel in order to transmit the information packets. Grant regions are allocated to specific information packets.
Upon receipt of a grant region, the multi-source multiplexing system determines the optimal transmission efficiency for that grant region, given the information packets currently waiting to be transmitted. In determining transmission efficiency, the system takes into account the relationship between signal sources, whether an information packet needs to be fragmented in order to fit within a grant region, the transmission priorities of each packet, and other knowledge the system possesses regarding the data packets and state of the network. If necessary, the multi-source multiplexing system may concatenate or fragment information packets. xe2x80x9cFragmentingxe2x80x9d an information packet consists of breaking the packet into smaller portions, referred to as information packet fragments, in order to transmit a portion of the original packet in a grant region. xe2x80x9cConcatenationxe2x80x9d takes place when the multi-source multiplexing system transmits a series of information packets within a single grant region. Information packets from any signal source may be concatenated with information packets from any other, and transmitted within the same grant region. Further, a grant region assigned to one information packet may be used by the multiplexing system to transmit another information packet or fragment thereof. Additionally, because the multi-source multiplexing system may insert any information packet into any grant region, the system does not segment and reassemble the information packets as an ATM system does.
That the invention improves over the drawbacks of prior data multiplexing systems and accomplishes the advantages described above will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments and the appended drawings and claims.